Democratic Party of Wisconsin Statement on Attorney General Jeff Sessions

MADISON – The following is the statement of Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Martha Laning with regards to news reports that Attorney General Jeff Sessions, our top law enforcement officer, may have lied under oath to cover up his own contacts with the Russian government during the campaign:

“We now know explosive information both about what happened between Russian officials and the Trump campaign and about the Donald Trump administration’s efforts to cover it up. The most disturbing new knowledge is that Attorney General Jeff Sessions may have lied under oath to cover up his own contacts with the Russian government. In his own sworn testimony at his confirmation hearings Sessions denied contact with the Russians. Now, it turns out that Sessions met with the Russian ambassador in person twice.

“In less than two months of the Trump administration, we’ve seen two high-ranking officials come under fire for lying about their communications with the Russians. We know top Trump aides were communicating with Russian spies, which is bad enough. We need a full and expedient investigation on possible charges of perjury and treason to uncover whether they were coordinating during the election. We need our Republican friends to join hands with us and commit to support real independent investigations into this matter to answer the questions that won’t go away any other way.

“Sessions’ recusal is not enough. Donald Trump’s Department of Justice has proven incapable of pursuing an independent investigation into Russia’s connections with the Trump team, and the American people will not stand for it. We’ve now reached a point where this scandal is bigger than any one individual, there is a pattern of troubling behavior between the current administration that could very well pose a real threat to the strength and vitality of our democracy.”